Automatic safety seat clamp

ABSTRACT

An automatic safety seat pair of clamps adapted to be moved in front of an occupant of a vehicle seat, one to restrain his mid section and the other, his shoulders, and thus prevent him from being thrown forwardly during an accident. The mid-section safety clamp is automatically raised from a low retracted position and the shoulder clamp is moved inwardly in front of the shoulders in response to the occupant&#39;&#39;s body pressure which actuates a switch on the seat back. The mid-section clamp completely encircles the occupant in response to foot pedal action. The clamps are retracted by motor power.

United States Patent Servadio 54] AUTOMATIC SAFETY SEAT CLAMP [72]Inventor: Robert Servadio, 3721 Parkview Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa.

[22] Filed: March 8, 1971 [2]] Appl. No.: 121,804

Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.804,423,

March 5, 1969.

[52] U.S. Cl. ..297/390, 280/150 SB [51 Int. Cl. ..A62b 35/60 [58] Fieldof Search..297/384, 390, 389; 280/150 SB [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 3,414,326 12/1968 Raffaelli 297/389 X 3,409,326 11/1968Kemer ..297/384 3,262,716 7/1966 Graham ..297/390 X 3,343,623 9/1967Porter ..297/385 2,873,122 2/1959 Peras ..297/384 X 3,203,733 8/1965Priest et a1 ..297/389 3,466,091 9/1969 De Grusso ..297/390 PrimaryExaminer-James T. McCall Attorney-William J. Ruano 5 7 ABSTRACT Anautomatic safety seat pair of clamps adapted to be moved in front of anoccupant of a vehicle seat, one to restrain his mid section and theother, his shoulders. and thus prevent him from being thrown forwardlyduring an accident. The mid-section safety clamp is automatically raisedfrom a low retracted position and the shoulder clamp is moved inwardlyin front of the shoulders in response to the occupants body pressurewhich actuates a switch on the seat back. The midsection clampcompletely encircles the occupant in response to foot pedal action. Theclamps are retracted by motor power.

8 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures Patented 0a. 24, 1972 3,700,281

6 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. ROBERT SERVADIO TTORNEY Patented Oct. 24,1972 3,700,281

6 Shuts-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ROBERT SERVADlO V d fif Y Patented Oct. 24,1972 3,700,281

6 Shasta-Shoot 5 INVENTOR. ROBERT SERVADIO By TTORNE Y Patented 0a. 24,1912 3,700,281

6 Shuts-Shut 4 u llllllll II}IIIILIIILI'LII%IIIIIII;;;;llllllllllllllllll again:

. v nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 1|INVENTOR. ROBERT SERVADIO A T TORNE Y Patented Oct. 24, 1972 3,700,281

6 Sheets-Shoot 5 FIG.7 80

Ila

I N VE N TOR.

ROBERT SERVADIO 41. ATTORNEY AUTOMATIC SAFETY SEAT CLAMP This is acontinuation-in-part of my US. Pat. application, Ser. No. 804.423,filedMar. 5, 1969.

This invention pertains to an automatic safety seat clamp that has, inaddition to the earlier automatic restraining elements for themid-section of the occupants body, a shoulder restraining means whichcan more effectively prevent an occupant of a vehicle seat from beingthrown forwardly, during an accident, against rigid portions of thevehicle.

The safety seat clamp is especially suitable for providing protection toan operator of a delivery truck who must make frequent stops to makedeliveries and for pick-ups of mail, milk and the like.

An occupant, such as an operator of a truck that makes frequent stops,tends to refrain from using conventional safety belts because it wouldtake considerable time and effort to couple and uncouple a safety beltmany times a day. Even the ordinary driver or passenger refrains fromusing conventional safety belts and the like because of the necessity ofusing the hands to adjust and apply them.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel vehicleoccupant restraining device that is operable automatically by the mereseating movement of the occupant without the necessity of using hishands.

Another object of the present invention is to provide novel automaticclamp means responsive to seating movement by the occupant to apply arestrainer about his midsection and shoulders driven by operation oa areleasing mechanism by the operator.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an automatic.reversible motor driven means for moving restrainer clamps verticallyupwardly in response to his leaning against the back of his seat andwhich is quickly releasable in response to his operation of a mechanicalunlatching means, whereby such operation may be performed very rapidlywithout the use of the occupants hands.

Other objects and advantages will become more apparent from a study ofthe following description, taken with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. I is a perspective elevational view showing the front and a side ofa vehicle seat having an automatic safety seat clamp embodying thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective elevational view showing the rear and the otherside of the seat,

FIG 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing protective elements inretracted positions;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational sectional view showing details ofthe mechanism for closing and opening restrainers;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view similar to a portion of FIG. 4,but showing parts in different positions;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the electrical circuit for thesafety seat clamp;

FIG. 8 is an elevational view showing a security lock bar for use withthe mechanism shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8;and,

FIGS. 10 and 11 are partial side and rear views of ashoulder-restraining means embodying the present invention andimprovement.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 show avehicle seat II along with restrainer clamp arms 12 and 13, andrestrainer seat belts 14 and 15. The restrainers are positioned so as torestrain an occupant of the seat 11 from being thrown forward or asideby momentum forces during a collision.

The occupant may be an operator or a passenger of a vehicle. Forpurposes of illustration, the seat 11 shown is similar to the seat foran operator of a delivery truck of the walk-in type such as a milk orUS. mail truck.

FIG. 3 shows the restrainers in fully retracted positions. Phantomoutlined positions 12a and 13a shown in FIG. 1, indicate lateralretracted positions of the arms 12 and 13. The arms l2 and 13 arepreferably made of rigid tubular construction. The belts l4 and I5 maybe made of nylon fabric.

The rear ends of belts l4 and 15 are fastened to the seat 11. Theforward end of belt 14 is fastened to the arm 12. THe forward end ofbelt 15 is fastened to the arm 13.

The seat 11 has a back portion Ila. The seat 11 is mounted on bars and16b. A strong tube 17 supports the bars 16a and 16b (FIG. 1). A flange18 is welded to the bottom of the tube 17. The flange 18 is fastened tothe vehicles floor structure 19. Soft cushioning or padding 21 may befastened to the surfaces of the arms 12 and 13 that confront theoccupant of the seat 11. The seat 11 is shown as being made of wood, butit may be made of metal or plastic. A cushion (not shown) may be mountedon the seat 11.

Arms 12 and 13 may be made wholly of strong metal tubing such asaluminum, steel or alloys thereof. The arms may be made more useful byusing a solid rod 22 (FIG. 2) to connect each tube to a shaft 27, asshown in detail in FIG. 3. Each tube is connected to a rod 22 with a pin23 (FIG. 2). Each pin 23 may be mounted on a tube with a clevis 24 thathas a spring to force the pin 23 into engagement with the rod 22. Therod 22 may have a series of holes to which the pin 23 may be selectivelyengaged to allow the arms to be adjusted outwardly. The pin 23 has ahandle that can be pressured to retract the pin from the rod 22. THe pin23 can be retracted to allow quick emergency removal of the arm when themechanism for retracting the arms is deformed during a collision,thereby preventing the occupant from being trapped.

A horizontal shaft 25 is mounted on the rear of the seat 11 with a pairof plates 26 to serve also as a seat hinge. Each end of the shaft 25 hasa transverse hole to which an L-shaped shaft 27 is pivotally engaged. Akey 28 at the end of shaft 25 has a non-threaded end that projectsloosely into a key-way like groove that encircles a shaft 27, therebyallowing the shafts 27 to pivot while maintaining their relativepositions with the shaft 25.

Arms 12 and 13 are keyed to slightly flattened portions of the shafts 27with set-screws 29 or the like, the set-screws 29 allow the arms 12 and13 to be adjusted vertically. The arms 12 and 13 may be adjustablypositioned so their rear ends are as low as possible so as to becomfortable to the driver or occupant.

The arms 12 and 13 may be positioned high as shown in FIG. 1, so as toconfront the mid-section at the occupant's chest, thereby restrainingthe upper portion of the occupants torso from pivoting downwardly duringa rapid deceleration caused by a collision accident.

When the arms 12 and 13 are positioned high to confront the chest, thebelts 14 and 15 can restrain the lower portion of the torso fromobjectionably moving forward on the seat 11. When the arms 12 and 13 arepositioned high, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper portions of the shafts 27can bend slightly to cushion the occupant when he is forced against thearms. Spring steel may be used so that any give would not result in apermanent bend.

The clamp arms 12 and 13 may be adjusted so that occupants body bearsalmost wholly against belts 14 and 15, whereby the arms 12 and 13 act aspositioners to position the belts in protective positions.

A pair of U-shaped limit bars 30 are fastened to the seat 11 and toplates 26. Each shaft 27 holds a coiled spring 31 (FIG. 1), that tendsto force the shaft to pivot so the shafts lower portion 27a pivotsoutwardly and bears against the inner edge of the adjacent bar 30.Springs 31 are motors that help to force the arms 12 and 13 into lateralretracted positions when the arms are free to move laterally. The shafts27 are forced to pivot laterally about their axes to couple the arm 12to the arm 13 and they are forced to pivot oppositely to retract thearms to the positions 120 and 13a.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show the details of the mechanism that causes the shafts27 to pivot laterally. A strong tube 35 (FIG. 2) is welded to a pair ofplates 36 (FIG. 2). The plates 36 are fastened to the seat 11. A pair ofround shafts 37 has a half-round portion to allow the shafts to slidablyengage each other. Each shaft 37 holds a pin 38 (FIG. 4) which ispress-fitted or threaded to it. The end portions of the tube 35 areslotted to allow pins in the shafts 37 to move laterally.

Each pin 38 is engageable with a slot in a shaft lower portion 27a (FIG4). A slotted fastener 39 (FIG. 4) is press-fitted or threaded to eachshaft 37. A pair of links 40 are pivotally connected to the fasteners 39and to a pair of bellcranks 44. The bellcranks 44 are pivotally mountedon a pair of fasteners 45. The fasteners 45 are welded to the tube 17. Apair of links 46 are pivotally connected to the bellcranks 44 and to amain link 47. The link 47 has a clevis shaped lower portion that engagesa slidable pin 48. The pin 48 slidably engages a pair of slots 17a (FIG.2) in the tube 17. A pin 48 has a head and a nut, each of which has agroove to anchor a lower end of one of two springs 50. The upper ends ofthe springs 50 are hooked into the fasteners 45. The springs 50 are themotors that supply the major forces that retract the arms 12 and 13 whenthe arms are free to move laterally.

A rocker control pedal bar 51 is pivotally engaged with the pin 48 (FIGS1 and 1). The pedal 51 is pivotally and slidably engaged with a clevis55. The clevis 55 is welded to the tube 17. The pedal 51 slidablyengages slots 17b and 17c in the tube 17. I

The occupant depresses the front portion of the pedal 51 to cause thearms 12 and 13 to close so they engage each other with plug and sockettype engagement. When the pedal 51 is depressed, it engages a notch 17d(FIG. 4) in the tube 17, to prevent the pedal from rising after theoccupant removes his foot from the pedal. A curved bar 56 (FIG. 1)forces the front of the pedal 51 aside into the notch 17d. The bar 56 isslidably mounted on a plate 57. Tile plate 57 is welded to the tube 17.A pair of pins 58 slidably engage the plate 57 and threadably engage thebar 56. A pair of springs 59 pressure the bar 56.

A release control pedal 61 is pivotally mounted on the tube 17 with apin 62. The pedal 61 is depressed by the occupants foot to the positionshown in FIG. 6, to cause it to push the pedal bar 51 out of the notch17d, to enable the springs 50 to raise the pin 48 and the linkageconnected to it, so as to spread the arms 12 and 13. A return spring 63forces the pedal 61 to return after the occupant releases the pressureon the pedal.

The depressing of the pedal 61 also causes the arms 12 and 13 to pivotdownwardly from the raised positions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to thelowered positions shown in FIG. 3, as will be described in detailhereinafter.

An electrical wiring plug 66 is interconnected to the vehicle'selectrical power source. A reversible motor 67 is pivotally mounted to aclevis 68 (FIG. 2). The clevis 68 is welded to the tube 17. The motor 67has a long threaded shaft 67a that engages a threaded block 69. Theblock 69 has pins 70 and 71 pressed into it. The pins 70 and 71pivotally engage a pair of bars 72. The bars 72 are welded to the shaft25 (FIG. 3). The motor 67 raises and lowers the arms 12 and 13 inresponse to switches 73 and 74.

When the occupant positions himself in the seat 11, his back depresses athin horizontally bowed band 77 (FIG. 1) that is mounted with screwsonto the seat back 11a. The band 77 has slotted holes to allow at leastone end to slide and to allow the band to flatten to an extend from thepressure of the occupants back against it. Wl-Ien the band 77 flattensto a predetermined extend, it depresses an actuating member of a switch73, (see FIG. 7). The switch 73 closes an electrical circuit thatactivates the motor 67 causing the motor shaft 67a to rotate and forcethe block 69 downwardly from the position shown in FIG. 3 to theposition shown in FIG. 2, thereby causing the shaft 25 to pivot andraise the arms 12 and 13.

A circuit breaker support 78 (FIG. 1) is mounted on the motor 67. Alower circuit breaker 79 and an upper circuit breaker 80 (FIG. 2) aremounted on the support 78.

When the motor 67 causes the threaded block 69 (FIG. 2) to movedownwardly close to its lower position, the pin 71 engages and opens thelower circuit breaker 79. causing the motor 67 to stop.

The pedal 51 has a delayed action dash-pot depressor 81 (FIG. 1)attached to it. When the occupant depresses the release pedal 61 andcauses the front portion of the pedal 51 to pivot upwardly, the dash-potdepressor 81 is forced against a plunger of a switch 74. The switch 74is mounted on the tube 17. The dash-pot depressor 81 causes the plungerof the switch 74 to close a circuit in the switch, thereby activatingthe motor 67 causing the shaft 67a to rotate in an opposite direction,causing the block 69 to rise, and the arms 12 and 13 to move downwardly.When the pin 71 (FIGS. 2 and 7) reaches the upper circuit breaker 80, itbreaks the circuit causing the motor 67 to stop. After the motor 67 hasstopped, the upper end of the depressor 81 shrinks downwardly as airbleeding action takes place, thus opening the circuit of switch 74.

The circuit breakers 79 and 80 are adjustably positioned on the support78 to suit the preferred limits of the vertical movements of arms 12 and13.

All the above action takes places without the operator ever having touse his hands, which is the basic idea for the present safety seatclamp. Such action can take place while the vehicle is moving or isstopped, depending upon the operators desires, therefore it savesconsiderable time of the operator.

When the arms 12 and 13 are in the raised by laterally retractedpositions 11a and 11b, they would tend to obstruct the movement of theoccupants arms. Thus the occupant will depress the pedal 51 to cause thearms 12 and 13 to pivot close to his body where they would not hinderhis arm movements.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a modification having a security lock bar 85,positioned in front of the tube 35, on the bottom of the seat 11. Thebar 85 is an angle shape, that is fastened to the seat 11 with screws86. The bar 85 may be welded to the tube 35 to make its mounting to theseat stronger. Each end of the bar 85 is recessed to the shaft portions27a are securely locked against any unintential release, such as by roadshock from pot holes, while in protective position around the driver orpassenger or while the arms are being pivoted laterally into protectivepositions. The bar 85 allows the power transmitting parts connecting themotor 67 and the shafts 27 to be just strong enough to raise and lowerthe arms 12 and 13 since the thrust of the occupant against the arms 12and 13 would be diverted against the bar 85.

As a modification of the invention, the electric motor, when actuated bythe switch located on the seat, may cause the restraining means to notonly pivot upwardly from the retracted position below the seat, but itcould also cause the restrainer means to completely encircle, ratherthan partially encircle, the occupant. Conversely, to free the occupant,operation of the pedal could not only cause lateral retraction, butdownward retraction as well to the position below the seat in responseto operation of the electric motor. In short, each of the entireoperations of clamping the restraining means and unclamping it may beelectric motor operated if so desired.

In my earlier filed patent application, I described an automatic, seatbelt operating device actuated by a driving motor driving a threadeddrive shaft propelling a carriage in opposite directions to effectraising and lowering movements as well as opening and closing movementsof a pair of arms adapted to encircle the stomach portion of the bodyfor restraining the driver or occupant ofa vehicle.

By the present invention, an improvement has been added whereby the samethreaded drive shaft will also actuate shoulder restraining bars bymoving them from a position behind and paralleling the occupants seat toa position substantially at right angles thereto forwardly of the seatto encircle the shoulders of the occupant whereby the occupant isfurther restrained from being thrown forwardly in the event of a suddenstoppage of the vehicle, as shown in FIGS. 10, 11.

More specifically, as described above and in my earlier application, onthe back of seat 11a there is mounted a frame supporting a driving motor67 which drives a threaded drive shaft or screw 674 which effectsreciprocating movements of a carriage 69 having integral extensions 70which fit through central longitudinal slots in pivotal arms 72. Thesearms are integrally secured at one end to shaft 25 so that when carriage69 is propelled downwardly, it will turn shaft 25 about its axis, asshown in dash lines in FIG. 10, and in so doing will tilt the supportingarms 27 rigidly secured to the body restraining arms 12, 13 from adownwardly and forwardly pointed position to the position shownoperating control switch 79,80 during such movement) wherein therestraining arms 12, 13 encircle the body or mid-section or chest) ofthe wearer forwardly in the plane parallel to the seat. Arms 12, 13 areadjustable by selectively inserting pin 112, biased downwardly by spring115, into any of the holes 114 so as to accomodate the waist size of theoccupant. This construction is illustrated and described in FIGS. 1-9 ofmy earlier filed application. Springs 31 bias arms 27a, integral witharms 27, against guide bars 30 so as to guide movements of restrainingarms 12, 13.

In accordance with the present invention, the same threaded drive shaft67a is used also to actuate a pair of curved, shoulder restrainingelements 127, which are shown in the inactive position, that is,extending outwardly in a plane immediately behind seat 1. Elements 127are mounted on vertically extending rods 126 of square or other)cross-section but having a twisted lower portion 126a forming a verygradually pitched screw threaded member having lower cylindrical sleeveportions closely fitting in cup-shaped elements 126b rigidly mounted oncarriage or sled bar 121 so that reciprocation of the sled bar orcarriage 121 will move elements 126b and cause turning about their axesof the square rods 126, since their lower ends are attached to thebottoms of elements 126!) in a manner to permit rotation of rods 126, soas to progressively move shoulder restraining arms 127 from the positionshown to a position at right angles thereto forwardly of the seat so asto partially encircle the shoulders of the occupant.

More specifically, as the sled bar 121 moves downwardly it will alsomove downwardly, with it, integrally connected cup-shaped elements 126b.However, since stationary plate 124 has a square hole 125 which closelyfits the square outline of rod 126, it will effect axial turningmovement of rods 126 from the inoperative position of the restrainingelements 127, as shown, to their position forwardly of the seatencircling the shoulders of the seat occupant. When the screw threadedmember 103 is turned in an opposite direction, it will move shoulderrestraining arms 127 from the forward or operative position to theinoperative position shown in FIG. 11.

The shoulder restraining arms 127 are adjustable in length by anysuitable adjusting means, such as ratchets 129 which are selectivelyengaged by a pivotal detent 128 biased by spring 130 to the engagedposition. The shoulder restraining elements 127 are also adjustable in avertical direction by providing a thick washer-like element 131 with asquare hole closely fitting about the square rod 126 and beingvertically slidable thereon but held in any selected position in whichdetent 132, biased by spring 133, is selectively fitted into any of theslots 134 to suit the height of the occupant.

In some instances, the occupant may wish to operate only the restrainingelements 12, 13 and to make the shoulder restraining elements 127inoperative. All that is necessary to put the shoulder restrainingelements out of operation is to put hooks 135, pivotally mounted on bar121 over the latch elements 137 rigidly mounted on stationary plate 124,as shown in dash and dot outline in FIG. 10, so as to make it.impossible for bar 121 to be reciprocated and for rods 126 to turn abouttheir axes. This is made possible by not threading the top portion ofshaft 103 so that when sled 121 is in the position shown in FIG. 1, noreciprocation of the sled I21 is effected by rotation of shaft 103. Thenwhen it is desired to put the shoulder restraining elements in operationagain, hooks 135 are unhooked from latch elements l37.

From the above, it will be seen that l have provided a pair of shoulderrestraining elements 127 which can be brought to the operative or closedposition simultaneously with movements of the waist line or chestrestraining elements 12, 13 and which may be brought to the openposition simultaneously with movements of elements l2, 13 to the openposition.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a highly efficient automaticdevice for quickly and easily attaching or applying and retractingrestraining elements which serve in the same manner as safety seat beltsin automotive vehicles and the like; furthermore, l have provided amotor driven mechanism for accomplishing the application and retractingof said restraining elements in a quick and secure manner without thenecessity of the use of the operators hands but by the mere seating ofthe occupant and his depression of a pedal, whereby use of the safetymechanism will be greatly encouraged even in cases of mail delivery men,milk men and the like who make very frequent stops, therefore who mustapply and remove the restraining elements numerous times per hour.

While I have illustrated and described several embodiments of myinvention, it will be understood that these are by way of illustrationonly and that various changes and modifications may be made within thescope of the following claims.

I claim:

I. In combination with a seat in a vehicle, a first pair of restrainermeans for substantially encircling a midportion of the body and a secondpair of restraining means for substantially encircling the shoulders ofan occupant of said seat, said first and second pairs of restrainermeans including stiff arm portions, support means mounted on rearportions of said seat for supporting said stiff arm portions, saidsupport means including pivotal means to pivot said stiff arm portionsof said first and second pairs of restrainer means substantiallylaterally of the seat, positioning means powered by motor operatingmeans to hold said first and second pairs of stiff arm portions inprotective positions substantially encircling the body and shoulders,respectively, of said occupant, and lateral retracting means forretracting said stiff ann portions to lateral retracted positions toallow the occupant to remove himself from said pairs of restrainermeans.

2. The combination recited in claim 1 wherein said motor operated meansis responsive to seating movement of the occupant for automaticallymoving said first and second pair of restraining means into saidprotective positions.

3. The combination recited in claim 1 together with a reversibleelectric motor mounted on the rear of said seat, a threaded driven shaftoperated by said motor, control means responsive to seating movement ofthe occupant and operated by said threaded shaft to move said pairs ofrestrainer means into protective positions, and means operated byreverse movement of said motor for retracting said pairs of restrainermeans.

4. The combination recited in claim 1 together with means forselectively adjusting the height of said second pair of restrainingmeans.

5. The combination recited in claim 4 together with means for adjustingthe height of said second pair of restraining means.

6. The combination recited in claim 1 wherein said second pair ofrestraining means includes a pair of vertically extending rods, ashoulder restraining arm extending at right angles to each of said rods,said arms being normally parallel to the back of said seat but movablefrom such position through an angle of about to a forward, shoulderrestraining position.

7. The combination recited in claim 6 together with means for adjustingthe height on said rods and length of said shoulder restraining arms.

8. The combination recited in claim 6 together with operating meansdriven by a reversible motor for turning said rods about theirlongitudinal axes to selectively move them into protective and retractedpositions as the result of operation of said motor in one direction oran opposite direction.

I i i

1. In combination with a seat in a vehicle, a first pair of restrainermeans for substantially encircling a mid-portion of the body and asecond pair of restraining means for substantially encircling theshoulders of an occupant of said seat, said first and second pairs ofrestrainer means including stiff arm portions, supporT means mounted onrear portions of said seat for supporting said stiff arm portions, saidsupport means including pivotal means to pivot said stiff arm portionsof said first and second pairs of restrainer means substantiallylaterally of the seat, positioning means powered by motor operatingmeans to hold said first and second pairs of stiff arm portions inprotective positions substantially encircling the body and shoulders,respectively, of said occupant, and lateral retracting means forretracting said stiff arm portions to lateral retracted positions toallow the occupant to remove himself from said pairs of restrainermeans.
 2. The combination recited in claim 1 wherein said motor operatedmeans is responsive to seating movement of the occupant forautomatically moving said first and second pair of restraining meansinto said protective positions.
 3. The combination recited in claim 1together with a reversible electric motor mounted on the rear of saidseat, a threaded driven shaft operated by said motor, control meansresponsive to seating movement of the occupant and operated by saidthreaded shaft to move said pairs of restrainer means into protectivepositions, and means operated by reverse movement of said motor forretracting said pairs of restrainer means.
 4. The combination recited inclaim 1 together with means for selectively adjusting the height of saidsecond pair of restraining means.
 5. The combination recited in claim 4together with means for adjusting the height of said second pair ofrestraining means.
 6. The combination recited in claim 1 wherein saidsecond pair of restraining means includes a pair of vertically extendingrods, a shoulder restraining arm extending at right angles to each ofsaid rods, said arms being normally parallel to the back of said seatbut movable from such position through an angle of about 90* to aforward, shoulder restraining position.
 7. The combination recited inclaim 6 together with means for adjusting the height on said rods andlength of said shoulder restraining arms.
 8. The combination recited inclaim 6 together with operating means driven by a reversible motor forturning said rods about their longitudinal axes to selectively move theminto protective and retracted positions as the result of operation ofsaid motor in one direction or an opposite direction.